When it comes to immigration enforcement, Gov.-elect Kelly Ayotte is standing by her pledge not to “MASS up” New Hampshire.
South of the state line, a surge in crime and the $1 billion annual price tag haven’t changed how Democrats Gov. Maura Healey and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu view the illegal immigrants who’ve flocked to their state. While both acknowledge the Bay State’s welcoming policies and taxpayer-funded benefits act as a magnate for undocumented migrants, both say they support continuing their existing approach.
“Many of these families are migrants to Massachusetts, drawn here because we are and proudly have been a beacon to those in need,” Healey wrote to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas last year.
Both Healey and Wu say they will oppose the Trump administration’s efforts to enforce federal immigration law and deport illegal aliens in their state.
Referring to illegal immigrants in her city as “residents,” Wu told a Boston TV station she would continue her sanctuary city policies and refuse to cooperate with federal law enforcement.
“What we can do is make sure that we are doing our part to protect our residents in every possible way, that we are not cooperating with those efforts that actually threaten the safety of everyone by causing widespread fear and having large-scale economic impact.”
And in a radio interview, Wu suggested she might go further. If federal enforcement agencies choose to act in Boston without calling on cooperation from city officials, “we still have other mechanisms where we can identify spaces that might be most targeted and think about protections there,” Wu said.
Protections for illegal immigrants from federal law enforcement officers doing their job.
Healey has been just as vocal about “protecting” illegal immigrants in her state. She has said state police will “absolutely not” cooperate with a Trump administration mass deportation enforcement program.
“Every tool in the tool box has got to be used to protect our citizens, to protect our residents, and protect our states, and to hold the line on democracy and the rule of law as a basic principle,” Healey has said.
Her critics note that enforcing immigration law in cases where people have come to the U.S. illegally is “the rule of law,” while refusing to enforce those laws is not.
In a statement, the Ayotte campaign told NHJournal the incoming governor will take a very different approach.
“Governor-elect Ayotte believes we need to enforce our laws and not allow the illegal immigrant crisis to come to our state like it has Massachusetts,” said Ayotte spokesman John Corbett. “She will monitor this closely as the administration develops its plans. But first and foremost, she believes that dangerous criminals need to be deported and that sanctuary policies have no place in New Hampshire. Governor-elect Ayotte will always make sure that law enforcement has the tools to keep our communities safe.”
Border security and immigration policy were major issues in the race for New Hampshire governor. Ayotte supported increased immigration enforcement and pledged to sign a bill banning sanctuary cities, while Craig opposed both.
Ayotte won by more than nine points.
If Massachusetts Democrats choose to interfere with lawful federal immigration enforcement efforts, Trump’s incoming border czar, Tom Homan, has a message for them.
“We’re going to focus on public safety threats and national security threats first,” Homan told Fox News Tuesday regarding the Trump administration’s deportation efforts. “And then fugitives — those who crossed the border illegally and had great due process, at great taxpayer expense, by the way, and were ordered removed by an immigration judge.”
And to governors and mayors determined to oppose them, Homan asked, “Are you telling me that you don’t want public safety threats out of your communities? That is your number one responsibility, to protect your community. So smarten up and work with us.”
If they don’t, Homan reminded them, “it is a felony to harbor and conceal an illegal alien from ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement).
“Read the statute. Don’t cross that line.”
